Middle East ceasefire on edge as Iran retaliates Bahrain, Kuwait after US strikes

The United States will continue targeting Iranian military infrastructure if Tehran threatens shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has said.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Waltz warned that Washington would not tolerate attacks on international shipping or US bases in the region.

“If the Iranian regime thinks for a second that President Donald Trump is going to sit by, stand by, while Iran continues to attack international shipping without a response, or our bases without a response, they’re sadly mistaken,” he said.

Waltz added that the US would “continue to, militarily if needed, take down their infrastructure” if it is used to “illegally control an international waterway”.

His remarks follow President Donald Trump’s warning on Saturday that Iran “will no longer exist” if the US decides to “militarily complete the job” in the country.

Iran has said that a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon must form part of any final agreement with the United States, as ongoing fighting continues to strain the fragile understanding between the parties.

“The withdrawal of occupiers from all occupied Lebanese areas is necessary for reaching a final and lasting agreement to establish regional stability,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.

Tehran also urged the full implementation of the first clause of the memorandum, which calls for an end to Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, Baghaei added.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, reviewing the rapidly evolving regional situation, according to the Foreign Office.

The EU official appreciated Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, including the signing of the Islamabad MoU, while expressing serious concern over recent ceasefire violations and stressing the need to keep communication channels open.

Dar briefed the EU side on Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic initiatives aimed at building a comprehensive framework for peace and stability in the Middle East.

He also underscored the importance of all parties adhering to the ceasefire agreement.

Both sides agreed to remain in close contact going forward.

Israeli air operations have continued in southern Lebanon, just two days after a US-brokered agreement was signed between Israel, Lebanon and the United States aimed at advancing a broader peace framework.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Sunday that an Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of the Deir Seryan–Taybeh area in the south of the country.

The agency also said Israeli forces fired cluster munitions near the town of Shebaa, close to the Israel–Lebanon border.

Ship tracking data shows increased maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with several large merchant vessels entering the Gulf on Sunday via a southern route near Oman, according to CNN.

According to MarineTraffic, two oil tankers, two liquefied gas carriers, and a container ship passed through the strait, with transponders active and navigation routes hugging the Omani coastline.

While some vessels continue to use alternative paths closer to Iran, shipping movement appears to be gradually shifting toward the southern corridor, which has been expanded for two-way traffic.

French shipping firm CMA CGM confirmed its container ship Galapagos also completed a transit through the strait, calling it an “important milestone” amid ongoing regional tensions.

Speaker of the Arab Parliament Mohammad Al Yamahi condemned on Sunday the blatant Iranian attacks targeting Kuwait and Bahrain, describing them as a flagrant violation of state sovereignty and a direct threat to regional security and stability.

In a statement, Al Yamahi said the unacceptable actions represent an unjustified escalation that undermines the security and stability of Arab states.

Al Yamahi stressed the need to uphold international law, respect the sovereignty of states, and spare the region further tension and escalation.

He reaffirmed the Arab Parliament's categorical rejection of any attack or threat targeting Arab states or infringing upon their sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasising that the security of the Gulf states is a fundamental pillar of Arab national security.

Egypt strongly condemned the Iranian attacks targeting Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles and drones, describing them as a flagrant violation of sovereignty, threatening security and stability while undermining regional efforts to de-escalate tensions peacefully.

In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed Egypt's full solidarity with Kuwait and Bahrain, expressing its complete support for all measures taken by both countries to preserve their security and stability.

The statement also stressed the importance of adhering to the current negotiating track, supporting serious efforts to reduce regional tensions, and resolving disputes through dialogue and peaceful means to enhance regional security and stability.

The Israeli government unanimously recognised the massacres of Armenians during World War I as genocide, a move widely seen as a rebuke to Turkey and a stark signal of the deepening rift between the two countries.

"A historic decision: the Israeli government has unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's proposal to recognise the Armenian genocide," the foreign ministry said.

The cabinet's decision must still be ratified by parliament.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned on Sunday of "internal conflict" in Lebanon over the country's agreement with Israel, which the Iran-backed militant group rejects, predicting that the deal would not be implemented.

The agreement, which was signed in Washington on Friday after five rounds of talks and aims to pave the way to peace between the neighbours, includes plans to disarm Hezbollah.

Fadlallah spoke a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US President Donald Trump in a phone call that the Lebanese state "will assume its responsibilities" in implementing the framework agreement.

Speaking at a memorial ceremony, Fadlallah said: "The agreement of humiliation and disgrace signed by the authorities will never see the light of day and will not be implemented."

"Our finger will remain on the trigger, we will continue our path of resistance to achieve our objectives, and we will exercise our legitimate right to defend our people," he said.

He added that what "the authorities have done amounts to sedition aimed at pushing the country into chaos and shifting the conflict from one with the enemy to an internal conflict".

Iran's foreign minister warned on Sunday that any challenge to the country's control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz would increase tensions despite ongoing peace negotiations to end the Middle East war.

"Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions, as we witnessed in the past two nights," Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference on a visit to Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Tehran's top diplomat called on all parties to "adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not to allow this MoU to deviate from its course" after both sides traded attacks in recent days.

Iran's foreign minister called on Sunday for the establishment of a security framework with Gulf countries, after Iranian strikes against US bases in the Gulf in retaliation for American attacks.

"We should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region," Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference on a visit to Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The UAE has strongly condemned renewed Iranian attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait with missiles and drones, describing them as a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the two Gulf states.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attacks posed a threat to the security and stability of Bahrain and Kuwait.

The ministry reaffirmed the UAE's full solidarity with both countries and its support for all measures aimed at preserving their security and stability.

Iran said on Sunday it was determined to defend its sovereignty after the latest US strikes on the country, as a fragile truce in the Middle East war hung in the balance.

"Iran strongly condemns the airstrikes by the terrorist US army on several monitoring and surveillance facilities on the southern coast of the country in the early hours of Sunday," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it "stresses its determination to defend Iran's national sovereignty" against US attacks.

Iran and the United States have accused each other of violating their truce, straining negotiations meant to end the Middle East war.

Kuwait's armed forces intercepted two hostile ballistic missiles detected in the country's airspace early on Sunday, with no casualties or material damage reported, the Ministry of Defence said.

Colonel Saud Abdulaziz Al Atwan, the ministry's official spokesperson, said the missiles were tracked and intercepted in accordance with approved operational procedures. He added that the Kuwaiti armed forces remain on constant alert and continue to carry out their duties with a high level of readiness to safeguard the country's security and protect citizens and residents.

Bahrain has strongly condemned the renewed Iranian attack on its territory after the kingdom said it was targeted again with ballistic missiles and drones, calling on the UN Security Council to hold an urgent session over the incident.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the latest attack demonstrated that Iran's actions were "not an isolated incident", but rather a deliberate and repeated pattern of attacks against the kingdom's sovereignty and the security of its citizens and residents.

The ministry urged the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities by ensuring the implementation of Resolution 2817 of 2026, bringing an end to what it described as the continuing aggression and holding those responsible to account.

It added that Iran's continued defiance of the international community required a firm response.

Egypt and Qatar affirmed on Sunday the importance of building on the ongoing negotiating track between the US and Iran following the memorandum of understanding (MoU), stressing implementation of agreed measures to reduce tensions and reinforce regional security.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that this was expressed during a phone call between Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al Thani within ongoing bilateral consultations on regional developments.

Kuwait strongly condemned repeated Iranian attacks targeting its territory, including the latest assault early on Sunday, describing them as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, a direct threat to national security, and a breach of international law.

The Foreign Ministry said the continued attacks undermine regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation, constitute a direct challenge to the international community’s determination to reduce tensions, and endanger the safety of citizens and residents alike.

The Israeli military said Sunday it killed several "armed terrorists" a day earlier in southern Syria.

"Yesterday (Saturday), IDF soldiers eliminated several armed terrorists in the Security Zone in southern Syria," it said in a statement.

The Israeli army has occupied what it calls a "security zone" in southern Syria since late 2024 and said it would remain in place there "in order to remove any threat to Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers".

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a "complete halt" could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed it had destroyed eight US military infrastructures in Kuwait and Bahrain in a joint missile and drone operation, describing the strikes as retaliation for a second wave of US military attacks on Iranian targets.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the IRGC's Public Relations department said its naval and aerospace forces launched ballistic missiles and drones between 2:00am and 3:00am local time, targeting the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters at Port Salman in Bahrain.

The IRGC said the operation was a "decisive response" to what it described as recent US aggression.

"Your zealous sons in the IRGC's naval and air forces, during a joint missile and drone operation at 2-3am today, Sunday, June 28, destroyed eight important infrastructures of the child-killing US army at the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait and the Fifth Naval Fleet in Port Salman, Bahrain, by launching ballistic missiles and drones at them and decisively responded to the recent US aggression," the statement said.

The IRGC further stated that US forces had attacked five Iranian coastal positions earlier on Sunday, accusing Washington of violating a ceasefire agreement as per the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two sides to end the hostilities in West Asia. It also warned that any future attacks on Iran, regardless of scale, would be met with a "crushing response".

Air raid sirens sounded for a second time in Bahrain on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said.

Iran announced earlier that it had launched strikes against the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain and another base in Kuwait, in retaliation for US strikes on its territory.

"The siren has been sounded... Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the Interior Ministry said on X.

Ibrahim Al Fiqar, Official military Spokesperson for Iran's Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, the operational command center that coordinates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the regular Iranian army, said that Iran will regulate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Fiqar, in a series of posts on X, said that violation of ceasefire will be met with a crushing response.

"Any new aggression, regardless of its pretext or the scale of its objectives, will be met with a crushing response. Violating the ceasefire constitutes a breach of Article 1 of the Islamabad Understanding and will lead to a complete halt of all tracks. Under the Islamabad understanding, Iran will regulate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Violent vessels will be dealt with more firmly than before."

He added, "This morning, US forces attacked five Iranian coastal sites under the pretext of intercepting a violating vessel. The operation was a decisive response to the recent American attacks."

He said Iran also targeted US infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain.

He said, "We conducted a joint operation with missiles and drones targeting 8 US military sites and infrastructure at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. We are in charge of traffic arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz, and will deal more firmly with violating vessels than before. Any breach of the ceasefire will be met with a harsh response and will lead to the suspension of all understandings."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that it carried out strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian territory, warning any further aggression would be met with a "crushing response".

The Guards "destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain," they said in a statement.

"Any enemy aggression, whatever the pretext, even against insignificant targets... will have a crushing response," the Guards added.

The Guards said on Sunday measures had been taken to control traffic through the strait and that violating ships would be dealt with more firmly than before.

The US military said it carried out new strikes Saturday on multiple targets in Iran, in response to a fresh attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

"CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping," US Central Command said.

It adding that Iran had earlier Saturday attacked a Panama-flagged oil tanker, the Kiku, carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil.

The command later posted on X a grainy, 35-second video, recorded from midair, showing explosions in various landscapes.

"US Navy and Air Force fighter jets conducted strikes tonight on 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's drone attack on M/T Kiku," the text of the post said.

The US military said the latest response targeted "surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities."

Iranian media reported several explosions in the Sirik and Qeshm areas of southern Iran.

Kuwait came under attack from "hostile" missiles and drones, the country's army said on Sunday, while in Bahrain air-raid sirens sounded following fresh US strikes against Iran.

"Kuwaiti air defenses are currently engaging hostile missile and drone attacks. Everyone is urged to adhere to the safety and security instructions issued by the relevant authorities," the army wrote on X.

In Bahrain, which hosts a major US naval base, air raid sirens went off the interior ministry said, calling on residents to "remain calm and head to the nearest safe place".

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran would "no longer exist" if the United States is "forced" to resume the war, as he accused Tehran of violating a ceasefire.

"United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!" Trump wrote.

The US military said on Sunday it had struck 10 targets in Iran at President Donald Trump's direction, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the war's uneasy ceasefire.

US Central Command, in a post to social media, said that US military aircraft targeted Iranian military "surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities" following an attack on a merchant vessel early on Sunday morning. It later specified the strikes involved 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz.

The ongoing strikes in the region show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the US reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict.

The incident follows a similar back and forth that occurred just days prior when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday and the US military retaliated with strikes the next day.

US says strikes were a response to Iranian attack on oil tanker

US Central Command said that in this latest attack Iranian forces attacked the oil tanker Kiku with a one-way drone. The tanker was laden with more than two million barrels of crude oil and sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to ship tracking websites, the Kiku left a Qatari oil field in the middle of the Arabian Gulf earlier in the week and was bound for a port in another Gulf country, just on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz.

It appeared to be attempting to use a route that was established near the coast of Oman that is serving as an alternative to the route sanctioned by Iran that runs through its own waters.

A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand the Omani route to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic, likely setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran, which sees the strait as a key source of leverage in ongoing talks with the US.

The US military said that "Iran had a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement" but "elected not to" when its forces attacked the Kiku.

Iran state TV reported explosions in an area just north of the Strait of Hormuz.

Day 120: US–Iran ceasefire under strain as drones target Bahrain

Day 119: Lebanon, Israel, US sign trilateral deal in Washington

Day 118: Oil price spikes after IRGC strike on ship in Hormuz

Day 117: Iran-Gulf reconciliation talks expected in Saudi Arabia

Day 116: Rubio lands in UAE on first leg of Gulf tour